It's Wednesday, July 29. We overnighted in Casper, Wy last night and now we're on I-25 in Buffalo, Wy, just about to get on I-90 heading west. It rained last night in Casper, got down to 54 degrees. As we were driving towards Buffalo this morning, we saw snow along the side of the road! It's sunny now, 9;30 am, windy and 56 degrees. This is crazy. The headlines today are record heat in Pacific Northwest. We're headed to Missoula, Mt and we checked weather there. It's been in the low 80's during the day and down in middle 50's at night. Should be pleasant there. We'll probably overnight in Billings, Mt tonight or make it all the way to Bozeman, MT tonight. The low tonight in Bozeman is 36 degrees. We're planning on staying several days in Bozeman to check it out. We've never been there and Nathan told us it's a wonderful city. Also N. Points says it's great. So we better see for ourselves.
We're doing great. The altitude is still bothering us a little even though we're down to 4000 ft elevation. We're going even lower so we should start feeling like our regular selves soon.
I unhooked the car last night, something we rarely do when we only overnight somewhere, but Casper, Wy has 3 quilt shops, and one of them boasts over 5,000 fat quarters. How could I resist that? Alan stayed at home while I took off with my Quilter's Travel Companion and visited 2 of the shops. I had a wonderful time choosing fat quarters to fill my fabric stash and dream of another quilt I want to make!
From sea to shining sea.......mimi
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
and there he goes....
Alan and I are in Denver right now, visiting Nathan (our son). He's a wonderful athlete, an experienced bike rider, and loves getting outdoors and doing something almost every weekend. Yesterday he rode his bicycle up to Mt. Evans, for the third time this year! The asphalt road is the highest paved road in the U.S. The mountain road starts at about 6,000 feet altitude, and ends up at 14,200+ feet altitude. We drove it and met him on top. Our weather started out at 60 degrees and cloudy in the morning. When we got to the top, it was in the clouds and 42 degrees. We passed Nathan on the way up, the switchbacks were sheer drop offs, of course I had Dramamine in me, had a headache from the altitude, and there were lots of cars going around bikers. There were motorcyclists, bikers, hikers, and cars. And much of the drive was in the clouds. Every once in a while the clouds cleared and we could see out, many mountain peaks, plus a drop off next to the road. A pickup truck had gone over the road earlier that morning, it was twisted in half from the roll, and that alone was enough to make me close my eyes at every turn. There wasn't much room for the car in the lane, then when we had to pass a biker you have to leave at least 4 feet or something as you go around, there wasn't much room for a car coming the other way. But the top was beautiful. And we're so proud of Nathan for making the ride. He's amazing, he stays fit, and rides all the time. And to think he's made that ride 3 times now!
love, mimi
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Tanzanian friend and daughter
The woman in white is Semeni. Her sister-in-law Irene is next to her. Semeni's daughters are Christina, in the denim with buttons, and Kareen, in the lime green. It's customary for Tanzanians to crop their hair short or shave their head.
Here's Semeni cooking in her kitchen, which so far is a small 8 x 8 concrete room in her home where she cooks on a small charcoal cooker. Notice her colorful Kanga, which is a fabric panel worn over regular clothes.We're back from Tanzania. It's been a couple of weeks already. Alan was going to give a talk in church about how we met Semeni from Tanzania, but he became sick and ended up not being able to go to church.( He was sick for 2 weeks with a stomach bacteria but he's fine now.) We sent his speech to our group leader to read to our congregation. I decided to print it below for all to read.
My name is Alan Hildebrandt. I want to share my story of how I met Semeni Gama from Tanzania in East Africa. Semeni is a local Tanzanian who traveled with us on our 2 week mission trip. While there in Tanzania she introduced us to her home village and her family, opened up her home to us for a wonderful farewell dinner, and was one of our translators for the trip.
In 2006 while working to fill a mission need in Tanzania, my wife Mimi and I met Semeni. She worked 6 days a week, 10 hour days, as the housekeeper in the home of our host family. She traveled an hour each way between home and work, and after keeping house for her employer family, she went home to begin her dinner on a campfire for her own family. We learned she taught herself to read, write and speak English by saving English newspapers from the trashcan of a previous employer, by making herself listen to English radio stations, and by speaking English with her employers. She learned to cook for her employer family by reading English recipes and converting kilograms and liters to ounces and cup measurements. She is an amazing woman of God, and knows everything she does or happens in her life is only because of God in her life.
As our friendship grew we became shamefully aware of how insignificant our list of comforts we had given up for 2 months were small in comparison to the daily struggles for Semeni and her family. We learned that Semeni and her husband Juma, along with 2 of their 3 children, Semeni’s sister and her 2 boys, plus a young girl from the home village, were all living in 3 small rented rooms with no plumbing, no electricity, no windows or window screens, and no kitchen. Semeni, Mimi and I often shared our love of Jesus and then our blessings. We’ve been privileged to see the work of the Holy Spirit in their family, from Semeni to her children, her husband, her church and her home village.
Mimi and I are so thankful that Terranova sent money to Juma for a keyboard. It was arranged that if Juma could get a keyboard, the music director would teach him how to play at church, and they could finally have music for their choir and for the congregation. For many years they’ve had only clapping hands, which is beautiful, but they’ve dreamed and prayed of having a musical instrument and someone to play it. When Juma asked me for the money for the keyboard I was disappointed they wouldn’t get one until I could come up with the money. What I learned is that when the Holy Spirit is involved you better get out of the way! Their prayers were answered by Terranova and they’re so proud of the new keyboard! (By the way, the music director is a wonderful keyboard player and practiced at a music store in Dar es Salaam since he doesn’t own one. As our group can testify, he was ready to demonstrate everything the keyboard can do and he’s pretty excited to be able to direct the choir while someone plays it!)
Semeni confided to Mimi while we were there that Juma is a changed man from 3 years ago. He used to drink a lot, get into fights, but now he’s a church going, keyboard playing Christian who wouldn’t think of missing a four hour church service. He has become a Godly man, head of his home who initiates prayer every night before they fall asleep, and his best friends are at church now. Juma was born a Muslim to Muslim parents who converted to Christianity when he was a preteen. Most of his childhood friends are Muslim and now he witnesses to them. He and Semeni open their home every weekend to church members, friends and family who don’t have jobs to come spend the day with them after church. They feed them and fellowship together. They usually have 1 or 2 girls from their home village come live with them and learn how to cook or sew in hopes they will learn a skill for a future job. Once the girl finds a job and moves off, they have someone else who needs a place to live move in with them.
Semeni and Juma now live in their own home but still don’t have electricity or plumbing, still need interior doors, furniture, a kitchen, and a ceiling. Semeni has been attending secretary school and will graduate in November. She dreams of owning her own restaurant and will continue helping people from her village as she and Juma are able. She knows she’ll need to find a job after she graduates, a job which is scarce in Tanzania. She loves her country and loves Jesus. She said she felt honored that she could travel with us to villages to talk with people about Jesus She wanted me to tell Terranova that she is so thankful for this church traveling so many miles to see her country, her home village and meeting members of her church and her family.
In 2006 while working to fill a mission need in Tanzania, my wife Mimi and I met Semeni. She worked 6 days a week, 10 hour days, as the housekeeper in the home of our host family. She traveled an hour each way between home and work, and after keeping house for her employer family, she went home to begin her dinner on a campfire for her own family. We learned she taught herself to read, write and speak English by saving English newspapers from the trashcan of a previous employer, by making herself listen to English radio stations, and by speaking English with her employers. She learned to cook for her employer family by reading English recipes and converting kilograms and liters to ounces and cup measurements. She is an amazing woman of God, and knows everything she does or happens in her life is only because of God in her life.
As our friendship grew we became shamefully aware of how insignificant our list of comforts we had given up for 2 months were small in comparison to the daily struggles for Semeni and her family. We learned that Semeni and her husband Juma, along with 2 of their 3 children, Semeni’s sister and her 2 boys, plus a young girl from the home village, were all living in 3 small rented rooms with no plumbing, no electricity, no windows or window screens, and no kitchen. Semeni, Mimi and I often shared our love of Jesus and then our blessings. We’ve been privileged to see the work of the Holy Spirit in their family, from Semeni to her children, her husband, her church and her home village.
Mimi and I are so thankful that Terranova sent money to Juma for a keyboard. It was arranged that if Juma could get a keyboard, the music director would teach him how to play at church, and they could finally have music for their choir and for the congregation. For many years they’ve had only clapping hands, which is beautiful, but they’ve dreamed and prayed of having a musical instrument and someone to play it. When Juma asked me for the money for the keyboard I was disappointed they wouldn’t get one until I could come up with the money. What I learned is that when the Holy Spirit is involved you better get out of the way! Their prayers were answered by Terranova and they’re so proud of the new keyboard! (By the way, the music director is a wonderful keyboard player and practiced at a music store in Dar es Salaam since he doesn’t own one. As our group can testify, he was ready to demonstrate everything the keyboard can do and he’s pretty excited to be able to direct the choir while someone plays it!)
Semeni confided to Mimi while we were there that Juma is a changed man from 3 years ago. He used to drink a lot, get into fights, but now he’s a church going, keyboard playing Christian who wouldn’t think of missing a four hour church service. He has become a Godly man, head of his home who initiates prayer every night before they fall asleep, and his best friends are at church now. Juma was born a Muslim to Muslim parents who converted to Christianity when he was a preteen. Most of his childhood friends are Muslim and now he witnesses to them. He and Semeni open their home every weekend to church members, friends and family who don’t have jobs to come spend the day with them after church. They feed them and fellowship together. They usually have 1 or 2 girls from their home village come live with them and learn how to cook or sew in hopes they will learn a skill for a future job. Once the girl finds a job and moves off, they have someone else who needs a place to live move in with them.
Semeni and Juma now live in their own home but still don’t have electricity or plumbing, still need interior doors, furniture, a kitchen, and a ceiling. Semeni has been attending secretary school and will graduate in November. She dreams of owning her own restaurant and will continue helping people from her village as she and Juma are able. She knows she’ll need to find a job after she graduates, a job which is scarce in Tanzania. She loves her country and loves Jesus. She said she felt honored that she could travel with us to villages to talk with people about Jesus She wanted me to tell Terranova that she is so thankful for this church traveling so many miles to see her country, her home village and meeting members of her church and her family.
Okay everyone, that's all I have so far. Soon I'll be posting pictures from our trip. Our scouting trip was very successful, very tiring, and the two weeks went by fast. We traveled to several villages, usually 2 or 3 each day, didn't stop for lunch, mainly because there wasn't any place to stop. We had peanut butter fold overs and water every day while driving to villages. Every village we came to knew of Jesus, but none had Bibles and knew of Jesus only from what their preacher or priest had told them. Very few of them had a relationship with Jesus. Some of the villages had never seen white people before. None of the villages had good water, most drank water straight from a river. That's all for this post. I hope that makes you curious about the rest of the trip. I'll write more later.
love, mimi
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